What if the ham you came for is only the beginning?
That is the trouble with a place like this.
You walk in thinking country ham, maybe a sandwich, maybe something easy for dinner.
Then the meat case starts pulling your attention one way, the seafood another.
Suddenly your very sensible plan is hanging by a thread.
The Virginia roots still matter, especially with so much local food history tied to the building.
But this is not the kind of stop where you need to stand around admiring the past.
You can eat, change your mind twice, and leave with dinner handled.
Honestly, that is my kind of history lesson.
The Former Edwards Ham Shop Still Matters Here
The building carries a recognizable piece of Surry County food history because it formerly housed the Edwards Ham Shop of Surry. Meats of Virginia makes that connection explicit and continues to sell Edwards Ham products alongside its own meats and seafood.
Edwards Virginia Smokehouse and Meats of Virginia are separate businesses today. What remains is the location, the country-ham connection, and a continuing place for Edwards products on the shelves.
The Edwards story reaches back to 1926, when the family business began building its reputation around Virginia country ham.
Decades later, Edwards cured meats reached restaurant kitchens well beyond the state, including Momofuku restaurants associated with chef David Chang.
That national chapter belongs to the Edwards brand, while the current shop in Surry County has its own identity.
That distinction keeps the story clear: the old Edwards name explains the building’s ham heritage, while Meats of Virginia is the business you are visiting now.
Country ham also gives the stop a distinctly regional anchor. Even if you leave with seafood or a deli sandwich instead, seeing Edwards products in the former ham-shop location keeps Surry County’s cured-meat history visible in the present-day store.
For a visitor, the practical part is simpler. You can still walk into the former ham-shop location and buy country ham without needing to turn the stop into a history lesson.
Start there if cured meat is what caught your attention, then see where the visit goes. The old Edwards connection explains part of the story, while the present-day shop keeps the experience rooted in everyday food shopping.
Country Ham Is Only The Beginning Of The Meat Case
Country ham remains one of the clearest links to the shop’s setting and history, but the current meat case goes much farther. It can include beef, pork, chicken, turkey, duck, goat, lamb, rabbit, bison, wild boar, alligator, and other specialty meats.
That changes the feel of the stop. A counter that begins with familiar cuts can quickly move into ingredients you may not see during an ordinary grocery run.
Whole hogs are also available year-round in a range of sizes, putting the butcher counter in play for much larger meals and gatherings as well as weeknight cooking.
For most visitors, the easier approach is simply to see what catches the eye. A steak may make more sense than a specialty cut once dinner plans come into focus. On another day, the unfamiliar option may be exactly what makes the stop interesting.
Country ham does not need to carry the entire visit. It establishes the shop’s strongest Virginia connection, while the butcher counter gives cooks plenty to think about once the historical part of the stop is behind them.
Seafood Adds A Second Full Market To Browse
The seafood side is not a token corner beside the butcher case. The selection spans Virginia and North Carolina seafood, including shrimp, oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, crab, several finfish, and other coastal choices.
That gives dinner another direction entirely. You can move from country ham to shellfish in a few steps without the combination feeling out of place in Tidewater Virginia.
Availability can naturally vary with fresh seafood, so the case itself is part of the decision. One day may point toward shrimp or oysters; another may make fish the more interesting option.
If dinner depends on what is fresh that day, make the seafood case your first stop before circling back to the butcher counter.
If one particular species is the reason for the trip, checking ahead makes sense. Otherwise, let what is available shape the meal rather than arriving with every detail settled.
This section is where Meats of Virginia most clearly stops feeling like a ham-only destination. The country-ham history may provide the backdrop, but a seafood dinner can easily become the practical reason you leave with a bag in hand.
The Deli Counter Can Handle Lunch Before You Shop
Shopping while hungry has a way of making every case look more persuasive. The deli counter offers a simpler answer with sandwiches and subs made daily, giving you a reason to pause before heading deeper into the store.
The deli works neatly as a lunch stop in its own right. Pick a sandwich, add a side or drink, and you can keep the visit casual rather than turning it into a full sit-down meal.
There is also outdoor seating on site when the weather cooperates. That helps if Meats of Virginia is one stop during a longer day around Surry County rather than the sole destination.
Eating first also changes the pace. Once lunch is handled, it is easier to look through the meat and seafood cases without every item competing with an empty stomach.
If you are driving farther afterward, eating before you shop also keeps the rest of the stop focused and quick.
The shop also offers soft serve, milkshakes, floats, and sundaes. Save that decision until the sandwich is finished. A cold dessert may sound much more reasonable after lunch than it did when you first walked through the door.
Virginia-Made Foods Give The Shelves More Range
The refrigerated cases may get most of the attention, but Meats of Virginia also carries Virginia-made food products. That gives the store another layer beyond meat, seafood, and the deli counter.
These shelves are where the pace can slow down. Instead of comparing cuts or thinking about cooking methods, you can look over pantry goods and other regional foods that are easier to bring home for another day.
The veteran-owned business serves the Tidewater region while maintaining its brick-and-mortar shop in Surry County. You will find it at 11381 Rolfe Hwy, Elberon, VA 23846.
That location gives the store an easy place in a drive through the county. It does not need to become the entire outing to be useful. A Lunch, a look through the counters, and a few regional foods can fill the stop without stretching it into an event.
Once the main food decisions are made, the shelves offer a quieter finish. Pick up something local for the pantry, choose a gift, or simply see what turns up before heading back to the road.
Exotic Meats Make Browsing More Interesting
Bison, wild boar, alligator, rabbit, goat, lamb, duck, and other less-routine meats give the butcher counter a different personality from a standard supermarket case. You do not have to buy any of them to make the section worth a look.
If you do want to try something unfamiliar, let the cooking method guide the choice. A cut becomes more useful when you already know whether it belongs on the grill, in a pan, or in a slower preparation.
That little bit of practicality keeps novelty from becoming the only reason something goes home with you. Trying a new meat is more interesting when dinner still feels manageable afterward.
Some cooks may arrive already knowing exactly what they want, especially when the ingredient is difficult to find at an ordinary grocery store. Others may simply pause long enough to consider a dinner they had not planned before walking inside.
There is some fun in that uncertainty. Maybe country ham brought you through the door and bison changes the conversation. The appeal is not chasing the strangest item in the case.
It is having the chance to make one dinner a little less predictable.
Daily Hours Make It Easy To Work Into A Surry County Drive
Meats of Virginia is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., which gives you a generous window for lunch, a market stop, or both. The same schedule throughout the week also makes planning straightforward.
Late morning works well if the deli is part of the plan and you want most of the afternoon free afterward. A later visit shifts the focus more naturally toward picking up ingredients for dinner.
The shop can also fit comfortably into a broader day around Surry County. You do not have to build the entire outing around it for the stop to make sense.
Maybe lunch is the goal. Maybe country ham is the only thing on the list. Maybe dinner still needs an idea by the time you arrive.
Any of those plans works without requiring the visit to become more complicated than it needs to be.
Come with one purpose and leave yourself a little room to improvise. That keeps the stop practical while still giving the butcher case, deli counter, seafood, and local foods a chance to change the plan if something looks more useful than what you had in mind.